Anticreeper.



H. H. SPONENBURG.

Patented Feb 13, 1917. a SHEETS-SHEET l- ATTORNEYS.

H. H. SPONENBURQ ANTICREEPER.

APPUCATION nuzu MAY 29. 1916.

v I Pate nted Feb. 13, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H. H. SPO BURGQ APPLICATION MA 1916- 1,215,426. Patented Feb. 13,1917. a SHEETS-SHEET s. f I

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- a BY 7 ATTORNEYW:

I having the modified form of spring,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

amen H. SPONENIBURG, or GURNEE, ILLINo'Is, ASSIGNOR, BY mEsNI: Ass IGNmENTs,

TO OTTO R. BARNETT, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ANTICREEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 29, 1916. Serial No. 100,453.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM H. SPONEN- BURG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gurnee, in the county of Lake and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Anticreepers, of which the following is a specification.

' My invention relates to anti-creepers or devices for preventing the longitudinal creep of railroad rails and the principal object of the invention is to provide an anti creeper, comprising a spring member to bear against and bite into the rail, the parts of which are-s0 constructed and arranged that a forward creeping tendency on the part of the rail checks itself by "increasing the spring pressure and the bite of the device on the rail, while any tendency to retrograde movement of the parts due, for example, to vibration, the contraction of the rail at low temperatures, or the reaction of the rail after the forward creeping impulse ceases,

e invention consists in the construe is positively prevented.

tions, arrangement and devices to be hereinafter described and claimed for carrying out the above stated object and such other ob-- jects as will appear from the following specification.

The invention is illustrated in certain preferred embodiments in the accompany-' in drawings, wherein Figure 1 shows in elevation an anticreeper constructed in accordance with my invention as applied to a rail, the rail being shown in section. I

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts ofthe device shown In Fig. .1. I

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are views in perspective of the parts of the anti-creeper. 1

Fig. 6 is a'similar view of a modified form of spring member.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of an anti-creeper and Fig. 8 is a sectional View on line 88 of Fig. 7.-

Like characters designate like parts in the severalfigures of the drawings.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the rail is shown at A and the cross-tie against which the anti-creeper is abutted at B. In' this connection it is to be noted that'wh1le I although igginst any other fixed element of a road The form of the invention shown in the first five figures consists of threeparts, a bowed spring member 10, a yoke of strap 11 and a foot or tie-abutting member 12. The spring member bears against one edge of the base flange 13 of the rail. B is formed preferably'with an acute angle bend 14- 'having therein a notch 15 fitting the edge of the base flange. The spring member is formed so as 'to diverge from and then curve somewhat sharply around toward the rail, the other extremity of the spring remote from the tie being notched at 16 to.

fit the base flange. The yoke member 11 has one end turned up to form a jaw 17 for engagement with the base flange. The otherend is formed with a. larger jaw 18 which extends around the spring 10. The jaw Patented Feb. 13, 1911. v

The end adjacent tie preferably has a lip 19 which comes down close to the upper surface of the rail base.

The foot member 12 is from the yoke member 11. As shown, it consists of a piece of steelbent into angular form with the horizontal plate 20 provided with a narrowed portion ortongue 21 adapted to lie in the depressed seat 22 formed in the yoke 11. With thedevice in place the portions of the yoke 23 on opposite sides of the seat 22 bear against the shoulders 24 on the horizontal plate of the foot member.

preferably, l. i not necessarily, anade separate In applying the device to a rail the foot 1 member 12 is placed against the tie Band the yoke thrust under the rail from the side engaged by the'jaw 1? of the yoke. The spring member 10 is then forced between the; jaw 18 of the yoke and the rail as far as it will go in the direction toward the tie. This can be accomplished by bending the spring member inwardly toward the. rail base and working it forward little by little. The spring member for most of its length diverges from the rail in the direction away from creep the spring action of member 10 and its bite into the rail is increased. The forward creeping tendency of the rail is, therefore, self-checked since 'the yoke bears against the shoulders 24' of the foot member 12. On the other hand, there is no danger of the enga ement of the yoke and s ring member wit the rail being loosens If the rail contracts, the spring and yoke memthe tie so that if the rail starts to ber.

her will move backwardly away from'the tie with it and this will be so even though, as may happen, the foot member is embedded and possibly frozen in the ballast so as to be immovable. The spring pressure exerted by the member 10 against the yoke prevents those parts from being disturbed by vibration or other cause. Even if the foot were made rigid with the yoke the force of the spring ought to be suflicient, under ordinary conditions, to prevent the spring, 'when moving with the'rail away from the tie, from backing out of operative engagement with the yoke. able,.however, to have the sliding relation between the yoke and foot member so that the yoke and spring may move freely with the rail without reference to the foot mem- The hold of the device is considerably enhanced'by the clawlike notches 15, 16 of the spring which bite into the upper slanting face ofthe rail base. In the modification shown in Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive, the end of the spring member remote from the tie B is formed with a pronounced bow or curve, as indicated at 9.6, the other end of the spring 27 lying the rail. This arrangement shortens the spring and brings the yoke closer to the tie,

making the horizontal plate 28 of'the' foot member 29 shorter than in the other form of the device. fied construction may be the same as that shown in the first five figures. 1

I claim: 1. An anti-creeper comprising a spring member, the extremities of which are notched for engagement the edge of the base flange of a rail, and means for binding the same against the rail.

2. An antl-creepericomprising a spring .member adapted to engage a rail at opposite ends, and means provided with a tieabutting foot for binding said spring member against the rail.

3.'An anti-creeper comprising a spring member, the extremities of which are notched for engagement with the edge of the base flangeof a rail, and means provided with a tie-abutting foot for binding said spring member to the rail. I

4. An anti creeper comprising a spring member to bear against a rail, means for engaging the same with the rail and a foot member to bear against the tie with which said rail-engaging means has free sliding engagement.

5. An anticreeper comprising a spring member, the extremities of which are notched for engagement with the base flange of a rail, engaging means which extends around the spring member and rail to bind the spring member to said rail, and a foot member to bear against a tie with which said engaging means has free sliding relation.

It is prefersubstantially parallel to In other respects the modi- 6. An anti-creeper comprising a spring member, the ends of which are adapted to bear against a rail, a yoke extending around said spring. member and the opposite side of the rail, and a foot member formed with a tie-abutting flange and with a tongue which intervenes between the yoke and the rail base.

7. An anti-creeper comprising a spring member, the ends of which are adapted to bear against a rail, a yoke extending around said spring member and the opposite side of the rail and a foot member formed with a tie-abutting flange and with a tongue which intervenes betweenthe yoke and the rail base with which the yoke has a free sliding relation.

8. An anti-creeper comprising a spring member, the extremities of which are notched for engagement with the base flange of a rail, a yoke which extends around the rail and said spring member, and a foot member formed with a tie-abutting flange and with a tongue which extends between the yoke and the rail base.

9. An anti-creeper comprising a spring member, the extremities of which are notched for engagement with the base flange of a rail, a yoke Whichextends around the rail and said spring member, and a foot member formed with a tie-abutting flange andwith a-tongue which extends between the yoke and the rail base, said yoke being formed with a depressed seat for the tongue.

10. An anti-creeper comprising a spring iiiember, the extremities of which are notched for engagement with the base flange of a rail, a yoke which extends around the rail and said spring member, a foot member formed with a tie-abutting flange and with a tongue which extends between the yoke and the rail base, said yoke being formed with a depressed seat for the tongue, and a foot member with shoulders against which the yoke is adapted to bear.

11. An anti-creeper comprising a tieabutting member, a bowed spring member which engages one edge of the base flange of a rail, the intervening portion of which diverges from the rail in the direction backwardly from the tie, and a yoke which extends. around the rail and spring member putting the latter under strainiagainst the former.

12. An anti-creeper comprising a tieabutting member, a bowed member notched at opposite ends for engagement with the base flange of a rail, the portion of which between the notched extremities diverges from the rail in the direction backwardly from the tie and a yoke which extends around the rail and spring member, putting the latter under strain against the former.

13. An anti-creeper comprising a flat bar of metal formed at one end with a jaw to engagement with the base flange of the rail.

by said last named jaw, said device being provided with a tie-abutting flange.

14. An anti-creeper comprising a flat bar of metal formed at one end with a jaw to engage one edge of the base flange of a rail,

and at the opposite end with a larger jaw,

a bowed member notched at its extremities, which is strained and hel in enga ement with thebase flange of the rail by sald lastnamed jaw, and a foot member provided with a tie-abutting flange and with a tongue which intervenes between the yoke and the bottom on the under surface of the base flange of the rail. I

15. An anti-creeper comprising a fiat bar of metal formed at one end with a jaw to engage one edge of the base flange of a rail, and at the opposite end with a larger jaw, 21 bowed member notched at its extremities,

which is strained and held in engagement with the base flange of the rail by said lastnamed jaw, and a foot member provided with atie-abutting flange and with a tongue which intervenes between theyoke and the under surface of the base flange of the rail, the portion of said spring member between the notched extremities thereof diverging? from the rail in the direction backwardly from the tie. i

16. Ananti-creeper comprising a flat bar of metal formed at one end with a jaw to engage one edge of the base flange of a rail, and at the opposite end with a larger jaw, a bowed member notched at its extremities, which is strained and held in enga ement withthe base flange of the rail by said lastnamed jaw, and a foot member provided with a tie-abutting flange and with a tongue which intervenes between the yoke and the under surface of the base flange of the rail, the yoke being formed with a depressed seat to receive the tongue of the foot member.

HIRAM H. SPONENBURG. 

